Night Stalker
by La-Bella-Luna
Summary: During the 10th book! Darren and Harkat are in search of Harkat's former identity, but along the way they meet another group of natives. They meet the chiefteness, who proves to have a past among their own world.


_**Author's Note:** This is my first story on this site. It is set during the tenth book and goes on from there. The eleventh book hasn't come out yet, but I should be able to read it before this section of my story ends. I may have to slightly change or add in things in this book, but the majority of the plot and events will still take place. Please R&R!

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_I never saw the change take place, but I knew it had. I looked down and saw claws instead of nails, faint stripes instead of tribal markings, and a thick tail sprouting from where my tailbone used to exist. Even my voice had changed. It was deeper and tended to growl. But I could still sing, he hadn't deprived me of that…yet. _

_I don't remember how long I survived there. When you spend a long enough time somewhere, the days run together. I just spent one day after another trying to survive. And then I saw more of them. Naturally I didn't want to go with them, that meant the change was real, permanent. Yet when you have no place else to go and no other way to survive you go with those willing to take you. The neighboring tribes become your enemies. You fight for a world you don't belong in. You fight for your life._

_And among the fighting I never forgot. I never forgot the demonic face that was the reason for my change. I never forgot how he attacked me, then took me there. I never forgot that he was the reason that I never aged a day past eighteen. He was the reason I couldn't go home. All because of his pride. _

_Desmond Tiny

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Darren and Harkat had been marching through the jungle for several days now. Though they were glad to be out of the harsh desert, the jungle was just as alien to them. They were on their search for the panther, to find the next clue to Harkat's old life.

As they marched, various scents entered Darren's nose. Though he could recognize some, others were still undistinguishable. He was perfectly able to find the scent of a squirrel, but another odor kept slipping by him. It was definitely an animal, he had decided not long after he first caught the scent. But the type of animal escaped him. When he shared this with Harkat, they decided that it was the panther's scent, since it did remind of a cat, and that they would head that direction.

However, as they walked, neither of them noticed the dark shape that flicked silently through the trees behind. It heard every word spoken by the two, caught every movement, and still remained unseen. Though it had been very careful to remain downwind of them since they decided that it was the panther.

Now, she sat poised on a high tree limb. One clawed hand steadied her on the limb while the other clutched a crude weapon. It was a spear made of hard, durable wood with a sharply pointed rock that had been tied to the end. Faint dark stripes were visible throughout her tanned skin. Long raven hair was tied up on her head to keep it out of her way as she tracked them. Small rounded ears were positioned near her temples, and they moved with every sound she heard. A longblack, furry tail protruded from her backside and flicked of its own accord.

Her eyes narrowed as she heard the boys speak.

"How much longer do you think we'll be walking?" Harkat asked.

Darren sighed and wiped his forehead. "I'm not sure. But we're doing everything Mr. Tiny told us to. I'm sure we'll find it. After all, it would spoil his fun if we got killed this early in his game."

"Comforting thought," Harkat murmured, but the figure in the tree caught his every word. Her heart had begun pounding at the mention of Desmond Tiny.

She leapt from the tree branch and landed silently on the ground below. She slipped her weapon into a holder at her waist, then crouched on all fours and began inching forward with a cat-like appearance. The boys were moving away and out of her range; she needed to keep up.

She had only just begun her crawl forward when she heard a monstrous roar from deeper in the jungle. The boys froze and mistook it for the panther. But she knew better. Her clan was calling her home. There were problems again.

She licked her lips as she looked at the boys. She didn't want to leave them and their familiar language, but she uttered a guttural growl before leaping onto another tree branch. Her duty to her clan came first, strangers came last. She leapt from tree, making her way home.

The boys had frozen in the clearing. First they heard a roar, then leaves rustling. Darren looked around, trying to spot the creature. When neither could, they tensed up even more. But as time went by and there were no more signs of a panther, the two figures relaxed.

"What do you think?" Darren asked his friend.

The Little Person replied, "I think we're getting closer. But we're not there yet. Let's make camp here." Darren agreed and the two travelers broke to make camp and think about their upcoming battle with the panther.


End file.
